Divino Christmas Menu Edinburgh 2026: What’s On It and Why to Book Early

Divino’s festive menu for 2026 is now live: two full set menus, built for the season and served in a vaulted stone cellar in Edinburgh’s Old Town that suits a Christmas dinner perfectly.

Here is what is actually on it, what the two tiers get you, and why festive tables in the Old Town are worth booking sooner rather than later.

What’s Actually on the Divino Festive Menu

The festive menu runs as two set options, both structured the traditional way: antipasti, a main course, and dolci to finish. You can view the full festive menu as a PDF before you book, which is worth doing if anyone in your group has a dietary requirement, since the menu is clearly marked for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options throughout.

Starters include a confit cherry tomato bruschetta with basil pesto, Puglian burrata with shaved fennel, orange and toasted pistachios, fried polenta with sautéed porcini and truffle oil, and a Tuscan-style chicken liver pâté on toasted brioche with slow-cooked onions. Main courses range from a roasted turkey paupiette with sage and onion stuffing to roast cod with Neapolitan escarole and cannellini purée, a signature rigatoni with a Tuscan ragù of braised Scottish beef and pork, and a roasted squash dish with cavolo nero, crispy barley and goat’s cheese for guests eating plant-based.

Menu Uno vs Menu Due: What’s the Difference

Menu Uno is priced at £39.95 per person and gives you four starters and four mains to choose between, finishing with a choice of four desserts. Menu Due, at £49.95 per person, widens the choice considerably: six starters including a beef tortellini in homemade broth and steamed Shetland mussels in Trebbiano wine, six mains adding a Merlot-braised beef cheek and an oven-baked cauliflower and Taleggio rigatoni, and six desserts including an Italian cheese selection and a chocolate hazelnut torta caprese.

Neither tier is the wrong choice. Menu Uno is a genuinely well-built set menu at a fair price; Menu Due is worth the extra ten pounds a head if the occasion is bigger, the group is harder to please, or you simply want more say over what lands on the table.

The Desserts Are Worth Planning For

Both menus close with a warm toasted pandoro served with pistachio cream and praline crunch, a vanilla panna cotta with a mulled wine berry compote, roasted pears and Amarena cherries with lemon cream and almond crumble, and the restaurant’s own tiramisù. Menu Due adds the cheese selection and the torta caprese on top.

Note that it is pandoro rather than panettone, warmed through and finished properly rather than served as a cold slice, which is a different thing entirely from the panettone most people picture when they think of Italian Christmas cake. If that distinction is new to you, our guide to panettone vs pandoro explains it.

Where the Festive Menu Fits Into the Bigger Picture

Divino’s Old Town cellar, with its warm lighting, oak floors and cosy banquette seating, was built for exactly this kind of occasion, and the festive menu is designed to work whether you are booking a quiet table for two or a private dining space for colleagues and friends. The restaurant also offers bespoke wine tasting dinners over the festive period for groups who want something more guided than a straightforward set menu; enquire through the parties and events page if that fits your plans.

For a broader look at what the festive season looks like at Divino beyond the festive menu itself, our pieces on winter dining and Christmas celebrations cover the rest of it.

What to Pair It With

Divino’s wine list runs to more than two hundred bottles, with options by the bottle as well as via the Enomatic dispenser, so you are not locked into a single glass for the whole meal; a taste pour alongside the antipasti and something fuller for the main course is a genuinely good way to work through a festive set menu. If wine is as much the occasion as the food for your group, our themed Sunday wine tasting evenings are worth checking alongside a festive menu booking, as the dates and themes change from month to month.

Full wine list details are available if you want to plan pairings before arrival rather than deciding on the night.

A Note on Dietary Requirements

The festive menu is marked clearly throughout for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options, which is worth knowing before you assume a set Christmas menu will be awkward to navigate with a mixed group. Several starters and mains carry a vegan-on-request option alongside their standard vegetarian listing, and more than one dessert across both tiers is already gluten free without needing any substitution.

It is still worth flagging any specific requirement with the team when you book rather than discovering it on the night, particularly for a larger group where more than one person is working around a different restriction. A kitchen that already knows what is coming can plan properly, rather than improvising around a set menu designed with fixed courses in mind.

Building a Bigger Evening Around It

The festive menu does not have to be the whole evening on its own. A taste pour from the Enomatic before your starter, or a specific wine chosen to run alongside the main course, turns a well-priced set menu into something closer to a proper tasting evening without the cost of the full à la carte experience.

If you are celebrating with colleagues at a works Christmas dinner or with family at a larger gathering, pairing the festive menu with one of the private dining spaces means the room itself becomes part of the celebration rather than just somewhere to sit. It is worth deciding early whether you want a standard table or a private space, since the two are booked through different routes.

How and When to Book Your Festive Table

Check the festive menu PDF for the dates it is available before booking: festive tables tend to go quickly, particularly weekend evenings close to Christmas. Book through the main bookings page and mention the festive menu when you reserve so the kitchen can plan for your group’s dietary requirements in advance.

For larger groups, whether that is a works Christmas dinner or a family gathering that needs a private space, enquire directly through parties and events rather than booking through the standard table widget, since group and private dining enquiries are handled separately.

November and December in the Old Town move fast once the festive menu is live, and the gap between deciding to book and actually getting a table tends to shrink considerably as the season goes on. Sorting it out now, while there is still a proper choice of dates, is simply the easier route.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s included in the Divino festive menu?

Both tiers are three courses: a choice of antipasti, a main course and a dessert, with Menu Due offering a wider choice across all three courses, including an Italian cheese selection among the desserts.

How much does the festive menu cost?

Menu Uno is £39.95 per person and Menu Due is £49.95 per person. Both are priced per head.

Is there a vegetarian or vegan option on the festive menu?

Yes. Several starters, mains and desserts are marked vegetarian, with vegan alternatives available on request for a number of dishes; check the full PDF or flag your requirement when booking.

Can I book the festive menu for a large group?

Yes, use the parties and events page rather than the standard table booking widget to arrange a larger group event. It is also the better route if you need help with private dining details.

Do I need to book the festive menu in advance?

Yes, strongly recommended. Festive tables are in high demand, particularly evenings close to Christmas, so booking ahead is the safest option.